Measles remains one of the most severe infectious childhood diseases (Box), and the current vaccine is 95% effective. Yet parents worry about sensational media reports of possible links between vaccines and a variety of medical conditions. Autism and IBD (Box) and their alleged relationship to MMR vaccine have recently been highlighted in the media.
Correspondence:
- 1.
- Wakefield AJ, Pittilo RM, Sim R, et al. Evidence of persistent measles virus infection in Crohn's disease. J Med Virol 1993; 39: 345-353.
- 2.
- Wakefield AJ, Murch SH, Anthony A, et al. Ileal-lymphoid-nodular hyperplasia, non-specific colitis, and pervasive developmental disorder in children. Lancet 1998; 351: 637-641.
- 3.
- Dales L, Hammer SJ, Smith NJ. Time trends in autism and in MMR immunization coverage in California. JAMA 2001; 285: 1183-1185.
- 4.
- Kaye JA, del Mar Melero-Montes M, Jick H. Mumps, measles, and rubella vaccine and the incidence of autism recorded by general practitioners: a time trend analysis. BMJ 2001; 322: 460-463.
- 5.
- Fombonne E. The epidemiology of autism: a review. Psychol Med 1999; 29: 769-786.
- 6.
- Taylor B, Miller E, Farrington CP, et al. Autism and measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine: no epidemiological evidence for a causal association. Lancet 1999; 353: 2026-2029.
- 7.
- Fombonne E, Du Mazaubrun C, Cans C, Grandjean H. Autism and associated medical disorders in a French epidemiological survey. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1997; 36: 1561-1569.
- 8.
- Patja A, Davidkin I, Kurki T, et al. Serious adverse events after measles-mumps-rubella vaccination during a fourteen-year prospective follow-up. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2000; 19: 1127-1134.
- 9.
- Iizuka M, Chiba M, Yukawa M, et al. Immunohistochemical analysis of the distribution of measles related antigen in the intestinal mucosa in inflammatory bowel disease. Gut 2000; 46: 163-169.
- 10.
- Afzal MA, Armitage E, Ghosh S, et al. Further evidence of the absence of measles virus genome sequence in full thickness intestinal specimens from patients with Crohn's disease. J Med Virol 2000; 62: 377-382.
- 11.
- Institute of Medicine. Immunization safety review: measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autism. Washington, DC: National Academy Press, 2001. Available at: <http://books.nap.edu/html/mmr> (Accessed 4 July 2001).
- 12.
- Levine M, Walter S, Lee H, et al. Users' guides to the medical literature. IV. How to use an article about harm. Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group. JAMA 1994; 271: 1615-1619.
- 13.
- Wilkinson L. Sir Austin Bradford Hill: medical statistics and the quantitative approach to prevention of disease. Addiction 1997; 92: 657-666.
- 14.
- Halsey NA, Hyman SL. Measles-mumps-rubella vaccine and autistic spectrum disorder: report from the New Challenges in Childhood Immunizations Conference convened in Oak Brook, Illinois, June 12-13, 2000. Pediatrics 2001; 107(5): 1-23.
- 15.
- World Health Organization. Statement on the use of MMR vaccine. Available at: <http://www.who.int/vaccines-diseases/safety/hottop/mmrstatement.htm> Accessed 4 July 2001.
- 16.
- Medical Research Council. Report from the Working Party on MMR. London: MRC, 1998.
Online responses are no longer available. Please refer to our instructions for authors page for more information.